Invisible Theatre News

RANDY ROBERTS ARRIVES LARGER THAN LIFE by Chuck Graham tucsonstage.com The always cheerful Winter Wonderland Holiday Cabaret at the Invisible Theatre kicks it up a notch this weekend, Dec. 11-13, with the return of Randy Roberts from his home base in Key West after a five-year absence from IT's own cabaret scene. Roberts was here in 2004 with his trunks of elaborate costumes and a wig collection that would make Marie Antoinette envious. 'You don't have to go to Caesar's Palace to see Cher,' says Roberts with so much enthusiasm you have to believe him. When he dips backstage after rehearsal at IT's cozy's mid-town theater and brings out a shimmery, silvery, slinky and fringe-y gown that catches every spark of light in the theater, that word 'glamor' also leaps in. When he adds the black stiletto platform shoes with seven-inch heels, all bets are off. Your opinion of the real Cher won't matter. Roberts will be lighting up the stage with his way ...

"“RUNT OF THE LITTER” IS A HAUNTING (AND RIVETING) TALE OF TRIUMPH by Chuck Graham tucsonstage.com If Invisible Theatre never does anything else, the idealistic company will be forever treasured for bringing us Bo Eason in his one-man show, “Runt of the Litter.” Everyone who saw Eason’s performance in a pair of shows last weekend can consider themselves blessed in Tucson theater circles. This was one of the most powerful, intense, touching and compelling experiences seen on a local stage in decades. It is impossible to overstate the emotional power Eason created all by himself working in the spotlight of the Berger Performing Arts Center. Using just a few props and some sound effects, the former professional football player took us from his memories of being an awe-struck 9-year-old determined to get his working class father’s attention, to the following years of discipline that turned him into the terrifyingly driven safety on defense for the Houston Oilers. Determined to make up...

"“RUNT OF THE LITTER” IS A HAUNTING (AND RIVETING) TALE OF TRIUMPH If Invisible Theatre never does anything else, the idealistic company will be forever treasured for bringing us Bo Eason in his one-man show, “Runt of the Litter.” Everyone who saw Eason’s performance in a pair of shows last weekend can consider themselves blessed in Tucson theater circles. This was one of the most powerful, intense, touching and compelling experiences seen on a local stage in decades. It is impossible to overstate the emotional power Eason created all by himself working in the spotlight of the Berger Performing Arts Center. Using just a few props and some sound effects, the former professional football player took us from his memories of being an awe-struck 9-year-old determined to get his working class father’s attention, to the following years of discipline that turned him into the terrifyingly driven safety on defense for the Houston Oilers. Determined to make up in psychological force what he ...

BO EASON PUTS PRO FOOTBALL ONSTAGE by Chuck Graham Tucsonstage.com We love stories of triumph, and former professional football player Bo Eason has a good one. The younger, smaller brother of New England Patriots quarterback Tony Eson, Bo is the personification of sibling rivalry carried to the max. Invisible Theatre brings us the whole story, told by Bo himself in a semi-autobiographical tale he calls "Runt of the Litter." As the title implies, Bo was the one who always had to try harder. Man, did he ever One reviewer of this off-Broadway stage hit compared Bo and Tony to Cain and Able. Developed as a one-man show, Eason recounts his life as a continuous challenge to win his father's affection by being as good as his larger and more talented brother. For dramatic purposes, Bo sets the story on a character named Jack Henry who plays safety for the Houston Oilers. Jack is preparing for the defining game of his life, the conference championship that will decide which team ...

Eason's 'Runt' tackles football as metaphor | www.azstarnet.com ® Published: 12.04.2009 Eason's 'Runt' tackles football as metaphor One-man show dramatizes ex-pro player's plan for life By Alexa Miller FOR THE ARIZONA DAILY STAR Bo Eason anxiously waits in the dark before he whips into action. A familiar rush of adrenalin pumps through his veins. He feels the crowd's anticipation. "I can hear the crowd, I can feel their vibrations," said Eason, a former Houston Oiler safety. "I feel like I'm in the Astrodome again, waiting to be introduced to 65,000 fans." Bo Eason brings his one-man show, Runt of the Litter, to the Old Pueblo. Photo courtesy of Invisible Theatre. But this is theater, not football. The scene is backstage, waiting to make his entrance for his one-man show, "Runt of the Litter." Invisible Theatre brings the production to Tucson this weekend. The cue music starts, the lights go on and Eason ...

LOVE COMES TO ALL AGES IN "SOUTHERN COMFORTS" At Invisible Theatre LOVE COMES TO ALL AGES IN "SOUTHERN COMFORTS" by Chuck Graham TucsonStage.com If you think the dating game is complicated for young people, consider the dimensions of effort required to maneuver around decades of past experience -- plus respecting the feelings of grandchildren as well as children, maybe stepchildren, and all the other baggage of life while falling in love at age 72 or older. Even if both members of this new coupling have only had one husband or wife before, expectations can get pretty tangled. That's the premise of "Southern Comforts" by Kathleen Clark, just opened at Invisible Theatre. This gentle romantic comedy tweaks the emotions in unexpected directions as two strangers deep into their senior years meet sweetly over a televised baseball game. She stops by his northern New Jersey home to ask for a contribution to charity. He's watching baseball. She loves base...

'Southern Comforts' seductively charming | www.azstarnet.com ® Published: 11.06.2009 'Southern Comforts' seductively charming By Kathleen Allen ARIZONA DAILY STAR The North and South are at it again. It's not quite a civil war in Kathleen Clark's "Southern Comforts," which Invisible Theatre opens next week. But it is a bit of a war between two septuagenarians, she from the South — Tennessee — he from the North — New Jersey. They fall in love, but it ain't easy. Amanda (Maedell Dixon) and Gus (Douglas Mitchell) star in the Invisible Theatre's production of "Southern Comforts," a romantic comedy. Tim Fuller / Courtesy of Invisible Theatre "Southerners are a little bit more spirited," Clark explained in a phone interview from her New Jersey home. "Northerners are a bit more staid." Clark knows what she's talking about — her family is a big mixture of people from both parts of the country. The No...